Marouane Fellaini scored a stoppage-time goal to send Manchester United into the knockout stage of the Champions League — and prompt a bizarre sideline celebration from Manager José Mourinho.
After Fellaini sent his shot into the bottom corner to secure a 1-0 win over the Swiss club Young Boys at Old Trafford on Tuesday, Mourinho let out a roar as he picked up a basket of water bottles and threw them forcefully to the ground in his technical area.
Fellaini might split opinion among fans — United tends to use a direct, long-ball approach when he is on the field — but he remains a firm favorite of Mourinho and a go-to player for his teammates in the latter stages of matches.
The win ensured United would advance from Group H along with Juventus, which stayed in first place thanks to a 1-0 win over Valencia.
REAL MADRID 2, ROMA 0 A series of big errors by Roma allowed Real Madrid to win on the road and move to first place in Group G.
Roma winger Cengiz Under sent the ball over the bar from point-blank range with Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois already down on the ground in first-half added time, and two defensive blunders led to Gareth Bale’s goal immediately after the break.
Lucas Vázquez then added another for Madrid.
Madrid, the defending champion, and Roma, a semifinalist last year, had secured spots in the last 16 before kickoff, as Viktoria Plzen won 2-1 at CSKA Moscow in the other group match earlier to send them through.
AJAX 2, AEK ATHENS 0 Dusan Tadic scored twice in the second half Tuesday to take visiting Ajax to the last 16 in the Champions League for the first time in 12 years in a match marred by fan violence in and around Athens’ stadium.
The game was preceded by violence inside Athens’ Olympic Stadium and in parts of central Athens, mostly involving Greek fans who clashed with local rivals and riot police. Moments before the match started, riot police charged into the stands to break up AEK fans who had hurled flares and smoke canisters. A1 cycling Police reported no injuries or arrests.
IN OTHER GAMES Bayern Munich demolished Benfica, 5-1, to rebound from a disappointing draw against Düsseldorf in the Bundesliga over the weekend … Manchester City had to come from behind twice for a 2-2 draw at Lyon … Shakhtar Donetsk stunned host Hoffenheim with a 3-2 win that kept it in contention for the knockout rounds.
